Two environmental activists still held in Shiraz, torture reported

As of September 23 (and there is no change as of October 2, ~ Sen), Yekta Fahandezh-Sa`adi (یکتافهندژسعدی) and Nabil Tahdhib (نبیل تهذیب), two environmental activists who were arrested in Shiraz on July 16 and 17, continue to be held in the Intelligence detention center in Shiraz; they have been charged with acting against national security and propaganda against the regime.

Three others arrested at that time have been bailed. They are Behnam Azirpour (بهنام عزیرپور), Sa`id Hosna (سعید حسنی) and Esma`il Rusta (اسماعیل روستا), whose arrest was not previously reported here. Bail was set at 200 million tumans (approx. $63,600). These three environmental activists spent the last ten days of their detention in the quarantine section of Shiraz’s Adel-Abad Prison, among prisoners accused of ordinary offences and in very harsh sanitary conditions. A source close to these activists has told Justice for Iran that they were beaten during interrogations. The interrogators hit the faces and sides of the bodies of the detainees with their fists, and also pulled out the fingernail of one of them. During interrogations they were blindfolded while facing the wall, and were dishonored, threatened and pressured to make commitments.

Another three of those arrested have already been bailed, for the same amount, They are Na’im Qa’idsharfi (نعیم قائدشرفی), released on July 18, Mrs. Noushin Zanhari (نوشین زنهاری), released on August 13, and Ramin Shirvani (رامین شیروانی), released on August 21.

It appears that the reason for the arrest of some of these environmental activists, who picked up trash around Shiraz on weekends, was the fact that they were Bahais.

The Intelligence Office of Shiraz had warned the families of the detainees not to spread news regarding the condition of their children, and had asked them not to provide any information related to this.

Yekta Fahandezh-Sa`adi had also been arrested and interrogated in January 2012 and February 2014. She was free on payment of 200 million tumans bail. A week before the third arrest, she had been sentenced to 5 years incarceration, charged with acting against national security and propaganda against the regime.